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New Black Diamond Ultralight C4 |
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29-Jul-2015 8:22:08 PM
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Since Superstu is posting about the new friends that look a lot like normal C4s, I thought I'd share this photo from Climbing Anchor's facebook page:
The New Ultralight C4 Cams from Black Diamond were on display at the Outdoor show and look interesting. They are superlight and use a Dyneema stem instead of cable.
Size 1 comparison
Weight C4 - 136g ULC4 - 101g
Strength C4 - 14kn ULC4 - 12kn
Set of 7 from 0.4 to 4.0 weight C4 - 1082g ULC4 843g
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29-Jul-2015 8:37:57 PM
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So if you took 200ml less water in your bottle you cut even with an old rack.
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29-Jul-2015 9:06:55 PM
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Someone might as well create a thread about the slightly revised DMM cams eh. Seems only fair.
Between these and some of the other lightweight gear available now, I'm concerned It may well be possible in the near future to 'go light' and take an adequately sized rack for the trip, which seems, well, unsporting.
Ps. If metolius are releasing a dual axle cam as well I'm giving up and going back to hexes.
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29-Jul-2015 9:07:59 PM
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There would be no need to replace the sling every 10 years because you would have to retire the whole thing anyway.
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30-Jul-2015 6:05:45 AM
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Why would you have to retire the whole thing after 10 years?
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30-Jul-2015 7:01:21 AM
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I must be an old grump unable to adapt to change... But all I want wild country to do is keep making the original technical friend. Lighter versions ok but otherwise don't mess with the design!
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30-Jul-2015 9:38:03 AM
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On 30/07/2015 widewetandslippery wrote:
>Why would you have to retire the whole thing after 10 years?
I assume because wire has a longer shelf life than dyneema?
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30-Jul-2015 10:17:53 AM
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On 29/07/2015 E. Wells wrote:
>So if you took 200ml less water in your bottle you cut even with an old
>rack.
Or just have a piss before you tie in
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30-Jul-2015 12:31:13 PM
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200 g from the cams, another 500 gr switching to mini biners and shoe string slings, it all adds up (down).
I occasionally use my 80s vintage loaner rack and an extra 2kg is massive!
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30-Jul-2015 11:50:18 PM
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Take half a rack then shlt yourself, you'll save so much weight you'll never need to buy these things.
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31-Jul-2015 9:47:32 AM
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On 30/07/2015 mikllaw wrote:
>200 g from the cams, another 500 gr switching to mini biners and shoe string slings, it all adds up (down).
>I occasionally use my 80s vintage loaner rack and an extra 2kg is massive!
Luxury!
I still use my even-older rack.
The extra weight keeps me fit!
;-)
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31-Jul-2015 10:16:37 AM
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You know your not meant to talk about racks here. Man boobs are still boobs.
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1-Aug-2015 10:56:06 AM
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Speaking of old gear, a rigid stem friend weighs less than a C4!
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1-Aug-2015 12:49:03 PM
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+1 Gotta love the old rigid stem cam ....
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1-Aug-2015 4:52:47 PM
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On 1/08/2015 TimP wrote:
>Speaking of old gear, a rigid stem friend weighs less than a C4!
Yeah? What size??
~> This might turn out to be a bugga weightwise, ... as to keep my rep I might have to pick up some pebbles enroute again to sling as protection.
;-)
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2-Aug-2015 12:23:25 AM
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Between the shorter stem termination and the soft dyneema stem these may be somewhat more resistant to walking in kinda shitty placements; which would be neat if correct.
Just thunkin' out loud.
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2-Aug-2015 8:20:05 AM
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More thinking out loud:
If the original reason for the fat slings on the thumb loop was to prevent the cable being damaged during loading1 then the thinner sling on the ULC4 would indicate that it's less susceptible to damage in the stem area from being flex over edges etc?
1: http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/qc-labreslinging-camalots-and-c3s.html
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2-Aug-2015 10:17:19 AM
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On 1/08/2015 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
>On 1/08/2015 TimP wrote:
>>Speaking of old gear, a rigid stem friend weighs less than a C4!
>
>Yeah? What size??
>~> This might turn out to be a bugga weightwise, ... as to keep my rep I might
>have to pick up some pebbles enroute again to sling as protection.
>;-)
BD C4 size 3 188g no sling, WC rigid stem Friend size 3 1/2 173g no sling. Surprisingly roughly the same range!
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2-Aug-2015 10:51:33 AM
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On 2/08/2015 TimP wrote:
>BD C4 size 3 188g no sling, WC rigid stem Friend size 3 1/2 173g no sling.
>Surprisingly roughly the same range!
Due not having any of the newfangle jobbies to compare with, I thank you for the enlightenment.
Warning; philosphical thread drift ahead...
Although I appreciate technological advancements, sometimes I think we 'murder the impossible' (to rephrase an old climbing adage), and lose sight of just having adventure or fun in our pursuits.
We perpetually seek to stimulate our climbing, sometimes with new gear, etc, when the basics are there the whole time.
We overdose on excess, but that is the very thing that robs us of the enjoyment, and the freedom, particularly when compulsion sets in.
As an over-racked aid climber I have learnt along the way that the most memorable climbs I have done were the ones where I had just enough gear with improvisation to achieve an objective without certain knowledge that it was actually achievable for me.
Good luck to the upcoming generations starting out with the new technology such as Ultralight C4's, as it can still be a ticket to adventure and fun provided the climbing mindset isn't overtaken along the way.
End of thread drift.
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2-Aug-2015 12:42:51 PM
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Andrew, you'd have to imagine the thumb loop would be near kink proof.
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